Consequence
by Angelight
Summary: [Regency] It is often in the best interests of a lady to marry a man of consequence, but within the constraints of propriety, how difficult would it be to find such a one that she can adore?


_Disclaimer: I do not, never have, and never shall profess any ownership of Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. _

_Author's Note: My most darling readers if any of you are still out there, this is another half-baked but very sincerely pursued and wished-for scheme of mine – a regency SM/GW fic! I have proclaimed an interest in it before but had never taken the notion seriously until very, very recently and while in want of inspiration and style for My Paper Heart along with other unfinished fics, I turned to a new one in hopes of escaping writer's block. This darling project was the result. It is an ambitious project, I understand, and bits and pieces are influenced by the delightful writing of Jane Austen, but I most earnestly hope it will work out well. Couples … I believe a Rei/Trowa might be one of them but beyond that … I believe I will invariably return to Usagi/Hiiro and I am quite fond of D/U/H, haha! We shall see, I suppose. Lastly, I would like to thank you all for your unwavering patience and forbearance and hope that you enjoy this short introduction to this long-termed project (if interest does not flag)._

_Enjoy,_ _minna-sama!_

Consequence

_Teaser_

_8.15.2006_

_.angelight._

It would often appear through the course of history that a most accomplished and good-tempered woman be married to a man of consequence but of nothing else. Those who avoid this common fate are celebrated for their cleverness and those who do not are not mourned, for the charm of consequence had far more weight than that of anything else.

Lady Darlian of St. Gabriel's had the happy fate of marrying a man of consequence, one whose dress can excite no reproach, whose fortune and estate could not but help to inspire envy, and whose connections recommended him to all with whom he became acquainted. However, Sir Darlian was not the felicitous husband of a most handsome and sensible woman owing to all of the above merits; rather, he was accepted because of his title, his claim to baronetcy, a claim hardly outdated or even to be vaguely contested for the blue blood ran strong through his veins and, consequently, through those of his children.

Hardly a soul could allege that Sir Darlian was a plain man. Despite his no longer enjoying the prime of youth, he could not be unhappy with the state of his appearance; in fact, to speak the unadorned truth, Sir Darlian was far more aware of his physical charms than any man of two and forty should have right to be, and the unpleasant fact must be stated that Sir Darlian was a very silly man. Only through his marriage to Lady Darlian was this innate silliness tempered, and, due to the most earnest maneuvers of a clever woman, his excessive vanity was transformed into something almost honorable and proper – pride in moderation.

Lady Darlian herself was not an unbecoming match for Sir Darlian despite her want of connections, of title, and of any dowry of real consequence; her fair skin, her most charming gray eyes fringed by dark lashes, her delicate features and even more delicate manners put many at her disposal, and in her youth, she was courted by many an eligible bachelor in want of a wife that was the model of everything female. Sir Darlian had deemed her physical attractions to merit comparison to his own, and with that insipid notion in his mind, he offered her his hand with all the airs of pride and none of propriety. Lady Darlian, despite severe misgivings, was convinced into the match by her mother who, though a sensible woman, was led astray by the number of zeros in the listed value of St. Gabriel's and of Sir Darlian's income.

In short, their marriage was not one of love, but though Lady Darlian did not enjoy the company of her husband, she tried her utmost to find solace in her children, and, in part, succeeded. Alas, it can only be said that one of her three brought her any true joy. Her eldest, a boy she had named Milliardo, could boast nothing more than a striking resemblance in features to the mother and often entertained too many of the faults of the father; her second, a daughter christened Relena, was all too much like the eldest and wore all the trappings of vanity on her most strikingly pretty features which had, again, fashioned themselves quite accurately after those of her mother; it was her last, a boy in the exact image of his father, a most beloved Quatre, whom she loved with all her heart. Quatre had the privilege to unite two gifts not often given as a pair – a most becoming countenance and regular features with a most handsome mind teeming in thoughts of wit, propriety, and of a particularly disarming yet apt gentleness. The only things Lady Darlian could wish for her dearest Quatre were the title of baronet and the fortune of one for she believed Sir Quatre to sound much more appealing than either Sir Milliardo or Mr. Quatre. Nevertheless, it was never the fate of the second son to inherit either title or estate, and so young Quatre was faced with the two options available to most second sons of connections but few means: the navy or the clergy.

This was the decision troubling Lady Darlian as she strolled through the shrubbery in the early morning while waiting for breakfast to be ready and her husband to stir from his slumber. She could not resign herself to seeing her sweet Quatre be placed in either situation for the first proffered all the uncertainties of death and the second all the certainties of stasis. But what was a doting mother to do? She could hardly argue that Quatre receive all the rights of the first child no matter how deserving he was of them. No, quite impossible, she assured herself; the only manner through which that would occur was if Milliardo discontinued his presence in this world, and she was not so unfeeling a woman to wish that upon anybody, least of all one of her children.

No, Lady Darlian decided, the only way out of this rut of mediocrity was through marriage, marriage to a lady of connections, of fortune, and of sensibility. Now Lady Darlian quite understand that the conjunction of these three features was not often seen; even her own daughter with whom she had taken the greatest pains to educate properly and instate a taste of modesty, simplicity, and gentility had erred greatly on the side of folly; she could only hope that with time, Relena would adopt a better understanding of the world around her.

She was just going through a mental directory of all the families of note around St. Gabriel's who might offer such a daughter when she was startled out of her introspection by the incongruous sound of an infant. Looking about her, she quickly discovered the source to be a basket left underneath the white lilac tree which had recently deemed the weather worthy to witness its small blooms and exquisite scent.

Upon approaching, she found to her utter astonishment, the presence of a child in the basket, one hardly old enough to do much more than lament its unhappy situation in the chill of an April morning with the pitiful whimpers of an innocent.

"Oh, dear!" Lady Darlian murmured to herself while pulling the child out of the basket and noting that the blanket around her – for the infant was most certainly a girl – though high in quality was hardly enough to protect any being from the demands of that day's weather. "You are lucky it is such a fair day today or else you would have been quite drenched and even more miserable." The babe, sensing the warmth of Lady Darlian's body against her own, settled down and became quiet enough that Lady Darlian might observe her features with more discernment.

The little girl was fair just like her children with eyes of a certain blue-gray not quite as iridescent as those of Relena nor quite as gentle as her own gray ones, but of a color decidedly pretty; the soft waves of her golden hair framed her heart-shaped face as she reached up a small hand to catch at one of the escaped ringlets from Lady Darlian's bun, and her small, pink lips formed a good-natured smile as Lady Darlian laughed and pulled away out of the child's reach.

"Where could you have come from, my dear child? How is it possible that such a charming girl as yourself was left here on our property? Your mother must be a most absent-minded w- oh! Good heavens! You have a note in your basket." Lady Darlian bent, retrieved the fluttering sheet of stationary from the side of the basket, and read:

_To my most esteemed Lady Darlian of St. Gabriel's Manor,_

_May fortune have led my little one into the hands of the kind, intelligent, and generous lady that I have observed you to be this past fortnight. Due to circumstances I cannot disclose at the time, I must most regrettably leave her in your capable care, my dear Lady Darlian. Please watch after her as I know you would with ineffable regard; she is a darling girl, I know it, and I leave her with the tenderest feelings of regret that only a mother can be acquainted with. Bring her up as one of your own, I entreat you, and teach her to become a proper lady of class as I know you will unconsciously do. Find for her the best governesses and the best minds to associate with; you shall not be troubled monetarily. If ever you are in need of funds for this dear child or any of your own little ones, please write to a Mrs. Smith of 134 Shirwood Street_ _in Bath, and she will forward to you the amount you desire. _

_Someday, perhaps not in the too distant future, I will return to reclaim my sweet one, but for now only know that she is called Serenity and she is very, very special._

_My warmest regards &c.,_

_A mother. _

"Oh, dear! I must take you inside directly! You shall meet your new siblings, my dear Serenity – Serena – and you shall be treated with all the fondness you deserve!" Her previous worries quite forgotten, Lady Darlian turned and hurried back to the manor with the infant clutched to her bosom.

She entered the house in a state half of anxiety and half of excitement, a decidedly pretty flush upon her cheeks despite her want of youth. Sir Darlian had just quitted the bedroom and was still in his slippers, a want of spirits which she dismissed in her state of high emotion. "You cannot imagine what has happened, my dear Sir Darlian. Look!" She pulled the child a little from her body and showed her yet indifferent husband the little girl. "She is but an infant, my dear, and we must keep her! I have considered all the complications on my walk back and have deemed them all inferior to the good we shall do in raising her as one of our own."

"What! Another child? Whose is she? My dear Lady Darlian, we already have three of our own, and they are all quite handsome and of excellent dispositions. Why might we have want for another? You must reconsider!"

Lady Darlian was not disheartened by his warm opposition and replied, "You must not say that, Sir Darlian. Look, here is the letter the mother left me. Consider it well, my dear! The imposition shall not be an imposition at all. Your argument can only be made in favor of keeping the child; our having three children already only means that another one shall not trouble us much more! Besides, she is a pretty girl and of an excellent nature for being so tolerant of the cold weather—"

But Sir Darlian was no longer paying her any attention and was instead perusing the letter with increasing haughtiness. "To a Mrs. Smith for funds? What, now!" he exclaimed as a curl of disdain colored his words a most unbecomingly muckish green. "A _Mrs. Smith_! Might there be a more common name in all of England? It shall not do, my dear Lady Darlian. If we were to direct our concerns to a baronet or even a captain so-and-so, I should be quite obliged to receive the girl in our family, but a _Mrs. Smith_! And not a word of explanation as to whither she shall come up with the funds—"

"From the mother, I should hope. Come, dear, the mother apparently has no reason to fear our asking more funds than she can supply. She must be quite well off. And to leave her child like this must speak of the direst circumstances for even you men can understand to a degree how difficult it is for a mother to part with her child! Sir Darlian, pray, do not turn this child away. She shall become a most affectionate sister to our children, and there is no fear of impropriety for she shall be raised as their sister and no unnatural feelings should arise in either Milliardo or Quatre as time progresses. I believe she shall be quite the companion for Relena who is in such want of good, female company as she grows older. You know always being around two boys no matter how gentle or well-mannered they are will ruin a lady. Serena" – for Lady Darlian had already deemed it good to give the child that affectionate nickname – "shall be her most constant friend and sister in spirit. You cannot argue against that, Sir Darlian! You cannot argue against the good of your children!"

Sir Darlian made a face as if to do just what she had supposed him incapable of but decided against it at the last moment and concluded to himself that it was far too early in the day to argue over the adoption of a new family member. Instead, he turned his attention to the particulars and approached to have a good look at the babe. "She is not half as handsome as Relena, I dare say," he mused with a proud tilt of his head. "And she will not lure any suitors away from my sweet Relena, I suppose."

Lady Darlian opened her mouth to express a different opinion but decided it was best not to make that opinion known to Sir Darlian for fear of injuring his pride or alerting him to the possible opinion that Serena was quite pretty but in a decidedly different way from what Sir Darlian appreciated; her features were more subdued than those of Relena or Milliardo or Quatre, but they had in them a most discernable delicacy and good taste.

"Keep her if you insist," Sir Darlian finally enunciated with an affected wave of his hand that looked too contrived to pass for one of nonchalance. "But do not bother me with her expenses or her needs. She is entirely _your_ project."

Lady Darlian curtsied her gratitude and acknowledged that Sir Darlian's response showed even more want of good character than she had been accustomed to thinking before but that it was a far better decision than to turn the child away. Yes, she thought, this decision would have to do.

And so little Serenity was instated in the family of an intolerably proud husband and a wonderfully good-hearted wife. She must have been quite delighted with the results for Lady Darlian adored the child and doted on her almost as much as she did on her own Quatre; however, this general felicity was not to last forever for Serena was soon to lose her first ally in the Darlian family.

_Author's Note: How was it, minna-sama? I hope it wasn't too awful … Regency … the style of language and whatnot is somewhat daunting but I have read such a great deal of Austen recently that it's become somewhat natural to me for the time being. Was it boring? It was merely a beginning so I imagine it was boring. Leave me your opinions, please! I am far more interested in them than you think! Yours, Ange-._


End file.
